Volunteering Abroad for Refugee Relief

Steven Weddle

Co-Founder, Volunteer Forever

Posted On Apr 19, 2017

| Read 32,704 Times

According to UNHCR, there are more than 65.3 million forcibly-displaced people in the world, 21.3 million of whom are refugees who have left their countries of origin. With the recent deluge of people fleeing Syria, the international spotlight sits squarely on the refugee crisis. But it isn't just Syrians who need our help: there are millions of other refugees coming from Somalia, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar, and dozens of other countries, driven away because of civil war or persecution for their political views, ethnicity, or religion.

There are so many ways you can make a difference, both large and small, for families and individuals in great need. To get started, here are nine great opportunities to volunteer abroad with refugees around the world.

International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) provides affordable volunteer programs in 40+ countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Since its founding in 2007, IVHQ has placed more than 80,000 volunteers around the world on a variety of projects, ranging from elderly and special needs care, education, wildlife, environmental conservation, construction and renovation, medical care, community development and social enterprise, and more. With program fees starting from $180, IVHQ is a trusted, low-cost volunteer program that prepares its volunteers for travel through email and phone correspondence and a series of online training modules. When volunteers are in country, IVHQ partners provide orientation and training sessions, as well as 24/7 support.

Travel to Brussels and provide support to disadvantaged youth and young adults, including refugees seeking temporary asylum in Belgium. There are several IVHQ projects to choose from that focus on assistance to homeless people, and the community centers that serve them. As a volunteer for the Educational Support project, you’ll provide valuable assistance to local teachers, with an emphasis on teaching basic English and math. IVHQ’s Food Outreach project in Brussels places volunteers within soup kitchens, preparing and serving meals, and cooking and cleaning. A Mobile Library travels throughout Brussels, serving the homeless and refugee population with books and coffee, and a chance to receive informal education through loaner books. Volunteers with the library manage the checking-in and checking-out of books and resources, stocking inventory, maintaining order in the library van and helping with informal educational workshops.

Pack your laptop and spend a month with an NGO in Naples, the capital city of the Campania region in Southern Italy, working with refugees to provide immigration support. This IVHQ opportunity is perfect for motivated individuals with an interest in administrative support and research. Because of their limited resources, many NGOs depend upon international volunteer support to operate their programs. You’ll gain professional experience with an NGO abroad as you work organizing and running workshops, conferences and outreaches, as well as networking, communication and English language support. You need to be at least 18 years of age, bring your own computer, and spend a minimum of four weeks on this project.

Travel to Spain to volunteer with an IVHQ project that focuses on teaching English to immigrants from Latin America and South America. Share your knowledge and experience as a Spanish-speaking teaching volunteer and work with adults interested in learning English and French, a skill that opens new career opportunities. This rewarding experience places you with refugees from poverty who are currently unemployed or stay-at-home parents. Volunteers assist predominantly in teaching English, however you may also teach other subjects, such as mathematics and computer skills. In addition to teaching adults, you may consider a teaching opportunity with youth from migrant communities who attend community centers during the months of July and August. This summer camp teaching project combines teaching English and French along with sports and play in an outdoor environment.

With more than 20,000 volunteers placed on meaningful programs overseas since 2009 (and 4,000 within in the past year), Love Volunteers is one of the fastest growing volunteer organizations that you can be a part of right now. Right now, Love Volunteers works in 34 countries worldwide, with more than 120 different projects - some of their most popular destinations include:

In the outskirts of Nairobi, Love Volunteers runs a program for volunteers interested in helping out at a Kenyan refugee camp. This program focuses on supporting the hundreds of thousands of Kenyan families who fled their homes after the 2007 election, eventually becoming Settled Internally Displaced People. Today, Love Volunteers works toward bettering the lives of these migrants in a variety of ways. During your volunteer program, you can expect to get involved with construction projects, teach schoolchildren, help to develop sustainability programs (such as agricultural projects or water sanitation initiatives), assist with the daily operations of a medical clinic, or even dive into fundraising activities.

On this program, you will make a difference at one of several different refugee camps near Nablus in Palestine’s West Bank, or in a neighboring village. Children are affected the most in refugee camps, so your efforts are needed to help them build confidence, self-esteem, and a bright future for themselves through education and social services. As a volunteer, you can create activities and events, design fun games for the children, support and assist with Community Development initiatives, and much more. While you do not need a background or education in Social Services or related fields, this is a wonderful opportunity for volunteers who would like to pursue a career in anthropology, Social Work, social entrepreneurship, or economics.

Since 1995, Cross-Cultural Solutions has provided international internships, gap year experiences, volunteer trips, and high school volunteering programs in 9 countries throughout Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. CCS’ programs focus on child development, girls’ and women’s empowerment, and global health, and to date, nearly 35,000 volunteers have traveled with Cross-Cultural Solutions.

Right now, the organization holds a 99% approval rating from past participants, and offers year-round presence their host communities, a full-time team of local expert staff to support their volunteers, and among the highest standards of safety and well-being in the volunteer travel industry. As well, Cross-Cultural Solutions has received recognition including Special Consultative Status with the United Nations, GreatNonprofits’ top award for the third year in a row, and is accredited by the American Gap Year Association.

Cross-Cultural Solutions offers volunteers the opportunity to work with migrants and refugees through their Syrian Refugee Program in Greece. You'll be volunteering in refugee camps near Chalkida, a town just north of Athens, and this program places an emphasis on bringing a sense of purpose and renewed dignity to the hundreds of displaced people within temporary camps.

As a volunteer, you will have opportunities to immerse yourself in all aspects of refugee support, including distributing food and supplies, developing camp infrastructure, providing structured activity and lessons for children, or working in female-friendly spaces to provide health information and other services. You'll also have the opportunity to become an Advocate for Refugees, a position in which you'll have the opportunity to put your photography, writing, and marketing skills to good use by telling the stories of these refugees to the world in order to dispel myths and share the realities of their plight.

For more than 25 years, Projects Abroad has offered volunteer trips in Africa, Asia, Europe, the South Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean. As one of the world’s largest volunteer abroad organizations, Projects Abroad sends over 10,000 volunteers on meaningful programs each year, ranging from archaeology, to teaching, to child care, to medical assistance, and much more. Right now, Projects Abroad offers an impactful opportunity to volunteer with refugees in Italy.

Projects Abroad operates a volunteer refugee program in Italy, which focuses primarily on supporting the refugee children of Calabria, many of whom arrived in Italy alone. As a volunteer, you'll be working to help these children adapt to their new circumstances by teaching English or Italian, providing child care, helping to run cultural workshops, and leading activities such as sports, music, theater, and computer skills training. You may even have the opportunity to work at Reggio Calabria, a port where boats arrive from Africa. Here, you would help to distribute food, water, clothing, blankets, and other urgently-needed items, and serve as one of the first points of contact for arriving refugees.

Connect-123 offers tailor-made programs based on your specific interests and abilities. One of their five locations is Cape Town, South Africa, where you'll have the opportunity to take on a human rights internship. Through this internship, you’ll work in partnership with a local NGO to support migrants and refugees through work at refugee centers, orphanages, legal aid clinics, and other organizations that provide much-needed assistance.

Launched in 2004, Global Leadership Adventures offers teen and high school trips abroad that combine community service with hands-on learning and adventure. With an emphasis on safety - outlined in GLA’s five-point safety system - this organization sends thousands of travelers to 23 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America each year.

Global Leadership Adventures offers a comprehensive program in which you'll not only sharpen your Spanish language skills, but also explore many of the complex immigration issues facing Spain. On GLA’s Spanish Service Adventure, you'll engage in projects that promote intercultural understanding and respect for diversity while helping immigrants assimilate into Spanish culture. You'll help run a local school's youth summer camp, reinforcing English curriculum through games and activities and promoting concepts of inclusiveness and cross-cultural understanding throughout.

For more than 25 years, Frontier has offered volunteer trips that combine community development, capacity building, ecosystem protection, economic growth, and the development of civil society. From their first volunteer project in Tanzania, Frontier has expanded to include more than 400 initiatives in over 60 countries worldwide. This nonprofit scientific research organization employs dedicated staff who have been published in more than 450 articles in peer-reviewed journals - and whether you’d like to take on an internship abroad, volunteer project, gap year, or teach abroad / TEFL program, Frontier is a great way to travel the world and make an impact.

On this program through Frontier, you'll be volunteering at an Israeli refugee health clinic in Tel Aviv that was founded to provide free or subsidized medical assistance to African refugees primarily from Sudan, Eritrea, and the Ivory Coast. While Frontier is primarily in need of volunteer doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, there are a variety of other tasks for those without medical training, including running workshops, creating newsletters, working in reception, and possibly even working alongside doctors to administer healthcare.

Volunteering Journeys is a fast-growing organization that offers meaningful placements in Asia and Africa. Volunteering Journeys strives to bring together travelers who want to explore the world, give back to the communities that welcome them, and learn more about themselves along the way.

With Volunteering Journeys, you'll have the opportunity to work with Burmese migrant children on their Volunteer Teaching English in Thailand program. This program works in conjunction with the Burmese Migrant Project and will afford you opportunities to assist in the integration and education of young Burmese migrants.

Ready to Travel?

If you’re ready to make a positive impact and help some of the world’s most vulnerable people, sign up for an account on Volunteer Forever today and begin fundraising for your service trip abroad. For more information about meaningful travel, take a look at these posts: